Verity & Verity LLC Sells 1,821 Shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS)

Verity & Verity LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) by 41.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,559 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after selling 1,821 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC’s holdings in Discover Financial Services were worth $443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Discover Financial Services by 506.5% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 188 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Discover Financial Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its position in shares of Discover Financial Services by 37.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 292 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Discover Financial Services by 27.4% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 316 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in Discover Financial Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 86.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DFS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Discover Financial Services from $150.00 to $146.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised Discover Financial Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised Discover Financial Services from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $186.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Discover Financial Services from $160.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Discover Financial Services from $148.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Discover Financial Services presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.75.

Discover Financial Services Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of DFS stock opened at $187.17 on Friday. Discover Financial Services has a 1-year low of $96.46 and a 1-year high of $189.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The stock has a market cap of $47.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.11, a PEG ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.46. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $176.70 and a 200-day moving average of $151.90.

Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $3.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $5.91 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.36 billion. Discover Financial Services had a net margin of 13.78% and a return on equity of 22.08%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.59 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Discover Financial Services will post 14.17 earnings per share for the current year.

Discover Financial Services Profile

Discover Financial Services, through its subsidiaries, provides digital banking products and services, and payment services in the United States. It operates in two segments, Digital Banking and Payment Services. The Digital Banking segment offers Discover-branded credit cards to individuals; personal loans, home loans, and other consumer lending; and direct-to-consumer deposit products comprising savings accounts, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, IRA certificates of deposit, IRA savings accounts and checking accounts, and sweep accounts.